All the small things

I have always loved going to the zoo, the chance to see these amazing animals close up that you would rarely get the chance to see anywhere else. In January, Beth and I got 'gold passes' to colchester zoo, meaning we can have free entry to the zoo for a year. It's been awesome going with Reuben, feeding the giraffes with him and riding the train.

The funny thing is that Reuben loves the whole experience, not just the star attractions. At the minute there are loads of ducklings about, just your standard mallard ducklings. We was at the tiger enclosure and the tiger was going mental right by the window that we were standing at, because of some cat nip in a box. But Reuben was too enamoured with the ducks to want to watch the Tiger, so we had to go and sit on the floor with the ducks.

It was the same at another zoo in Kent recently where you can go on a 'safari ride', we got on and in a field of zebra, and giraffe and other exotic animals, the animal that Reuben said 'WOOOWWW' to the most was the standard wood pigeon in the trees.

You see kids see things differently to us big people. We can be so focused on what we guess is the important stuff that we miss the small things. Reuben cheers, giggles, bounces up and down and shouts 'pop' when the toast pops up in the morning. Reuben loves toast, but we are often focused on getting ready, and out the door that we miss the sheer joy of even eating food, something that sustains and energises us.

Obviously we need to think about the 'big picture' stuff, as adults and for some of us as parents it's our job, but it doesn't mean that we have to miss the blessings of the small stuff, because when we start to enjoy the pigeon in the tree, the ducklings in spring, and toast in the morning, we start to see how much more blessed we are than we think in the lives that we lead. Maybe this is what Jesus meant when he called us to 'become like little children.'